Math always gets a bad reputation for being the most dreaded subject, whether you’re in high school or college. However, Sir Calvin Sia Po strives to bring fun into such a difficult and sometimes demanding subject.
As a fresh graduate who’s familiar with the technical aspects of the online settings, these may not be much of a problem for him. However, he shares that one major concern remains: How he can reach his students amid their different backgrounds and capacities.
Sia prioritizes engaging with students since Math requires step-by-step instruction; however, the modular setting and physical distance has posed a challenge to that. In a campus setting, he would be able to gauge if his class actually understood the lessons by reading the room, but now he has to exert more effort into directly asking. “Since in online classes students don’t usually open their cameras, then I can’t really know what they’re thinking or feeling. So, [now] I would ask if they really need an extension for a [certain] assessment.”
Sia finds that most of the modules are text-heavy, making it difficult for students to actively engage with what they’re learning. He fears that students are passing requirements for the mere sake of passing them, without understanding the material on a deeper level. “It’s really just about beating the deadline now,” he laments. “[Students think] ‘I want to understand this lesson immediately so I can move on to the next module.’ Rather than to enjoy and savor the class a little bit, nagiging race na lang (it becomes a race).”
Since Sia is also somewhat tech-savvy, he’s tried to mitigate these problems by maximizing various online features and apps to his advantage. One of his most distinctive tools for teaching, even before the online setting, is his utilization of memes. He shares that a meme can often convey what a five-minute text-heavy discussion hopes to put across, which is why he opts to use the photo formats to better resonate with his classes.
As for online tests, he mentions that there was one instance wherein he made a total of 100 items for a 25-item quiz so that no two tests would be the same. If he feels like his class might need an extension for a deadline, he makes use of the poll feature in Zoom that students can anonymously answer. He would also review his classes before a test through Kahoot games, which was also something he utilized pre-pandemic.
However, it’s inevitable that some of his students would experience internet connectivity issues and lack access to resources for online learning. Pio shares, “Kanina lang, I was cramming a quiz for my student. Nagkakaroon yung phones ng problema sa Math [when answering on Canvas] kasi ‘di niya nababasa. (Their phone had a problem because they couldn’t read the test on Canvas.) I adjusted and created a new exam for him and sent it as a PDF.”
While Sia remains dedicated to making the system as accommodating as possible for his students, he admits that he’s still trying to strike that balance between personal and work time. He shares that he encourages his students to message him anytime regardless of the hour. “With Math, once you don’t get one part, mahihirapan ka na sa next parts. I tell my students that if they have those problems, just message me anytime at kung gising ako, I’ll reply to you as soon as possible. And really, may mga nag-memessage sa akin ng mga (they’ll message me at) 3AM or 4AM [and I reply]. I really want to be there for them.”
Sia emphasizes the importance of prioritizing your health and studying with a good mood. He suggests either reviewing with your blockmates or creating your own games. While it’s still not the same as actually having your friends around to review with you, he says that at least it’s something to look forward to.
As for advice he would give to fellow professors, he wants to remind them that the students aren’t lazy and might just need a bit of checking up on from time to time. “[I hope that they] don’t forget their passion or love for teaching, because it’s easy to forget the passion,” Sia says as some final words for those in the academe. “But then again, we all really just want the students to learn. All we do, we do it for the students.”